


Uncle Crowley

by Maeve_Lynn



Series: Valentine's Day 2021 [1]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Good Friends, Rosalind Lives AU, The Early Years AU, babysitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29342412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_Lynn/pseuds/Maeve_Lynn
Summary: In this AU, Rosalind is still alive and she and Crowley are close friends. Quite often, the Ranger keeps an eye on the small Princess, yet this time things don't go as planned.
Relationships: Cassandra | Evanlyn & Crowley Meratyn, Crowley Meratyn & Rosalind Serenne
Series: Valentine's Day 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164947
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Uncle Crowley

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hessy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hessy/gifts).



> It was a joy to write about Crowley and Rosalind and the bond they have. Also, imagining Crows as a babysitter and uncle for Cassandra was somthing that came up in my mind immediately.  
> I hope you like it ^^

Hastily, the man ran around the corner, stopped for a brief moment and then continued to the right. Along the way, he opened the few doors and stepped into the small rooms, looking around quickly, but then continuing to the next one. As time passed by, he started to worry more and more. In his mind, he went through a list of all possible places and how likely it was that she could be there. He was so focused, he didn’t notice how he bumped into another man. Both hadn’t seen each other as they had their own problems to think of.

“Looking for something, Crowley?” a familiar voice asked him.

The Ranger, who had fallen on the ground, quickly got back on his feet, shaking his head.

“Oh no, Your Highness, I’m not looking for something,” he replied, trying his best to give a relaxed impression.

Rosalind tilted her head slightly and inspected the man in front of her, her eyebrows slightly frowned. She did notice the Ranger was nervous, although he did a great job in hiding it.

“Then pray tell, my dear Crowley, why are you running around like this?” she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Crowley knew that the Queen knew that there was something going on, but he couldn’t tell her what was the reason he was running around. He opened his mouth to react, yet closed it quickly when she continued.

“I would almost say you’re in such a hurry because you lost Cassandra,” she smirked and Crowley had to do his best to hide the redness on his face. Not sure if he could trust his voice, he instead shook his head.

“Oh no your Majesty, I wouldn’t lose your daughter. I know how much the King and you trust me to take care of her and I wouldn’t want to break your trust.”

He hoped the Queen would accept his answer and to his relieve, she did.

“Very well then,” Rosalind replied, straightening her clothes and turning into the direction from which Crowley had come. “I trust you a lot and I know you will protect her and make sure she is alright. I will have a meeting with the Ladies of several nobles and Duncan will meet with their husbands. We expect to be done within an hour or three, four.”

She saw him nodding and, assuming she had finished her sentence, he wanted to continue his search for the Princess, yet was stopped by her voice.

“Thank you Crowley, for taking care of her whenever we need someone to look after her. You’re a loyal friend and I don’t think it’s a secret if I tell you how much we trust you in taking care of Cassandra.”

The words made him glow with pride on one side, yet on the other side they hurt him a lot as he wasn’t living up to them. However, when he had turned around to answer her, she had already gone away.

It had been over two hours already and he had to admit that he became quite panicked. How was it possible that he hadn’t found her yet? He had gone to every room he knew she would know as well and had checked at least tenth times the most obvious hiding places, but he still had no clue where she could be. Devastated, he returned to his office, sat down in the chair behind his desk and laid his head on his arms. _I’m terrible_ , he thought. _They trust me to look after their child and what do I do? I lose her and can’t find her in the whole castle._ Looking up, he was thinking what he should say to his friends. _They will never trust me again, nor will the others when they hear of it. They will doubt my abilities as Ranger and will me kick me out of the Corps and-_

With a sight, he massaged his temples. It wasn’t of any use to worry about that, he had to find the Princess first, but where could she be? He went through the options once again to see if he had missed something. They were playing hide and seek and he had told her she could hide and that he would look for her. Then, a certain thought made him frown. He never said _where_ she could hide herself, just to _hide_ herself.

Slowly, he got onto his feet and paced around.

“If I were a child of three years old,” he mumbled to himself, “and able to go anywhere where I wanted and one of my friends is a Ranger, telling me little secrets about hiding, then where would I-” Suddenly, he stopped and snapped his fingers. “That I didn’t think of that before!”

Once again, he rushed outside, going through the long corridors and took at least two steps when going upstairs, until he arrived at his own rooms. He had once told her how people barely tend to look up and, given the fact he had also told her about the small attic above his guestroom, it was the most likely place where she could be.

He carefully climbed the ladder until he was on the attic floor. He had to get used to the darkness but once he was, he saw a small child laying on the floor.

“Cassandra!” he said, laying a hand on his heart as he had found her, safe and well.

Once recovered from his panic and the worry he had felt, he walked towards her and gently nudging her shoulder.

“Wake up, little one,” he said and saw how the little girl didn’t move at first, but then slowly awoke.

She rubbed her eyes and needed some time to get used to the darkness. At first, she was scared when she saw the silhouette, but once she heard his voice, she jumped up and hugged him.

“You found me!” she said, her voice as cheerful as always.

Cassandra felt how she was lifted up taken downstairs. Then, Crowley did a quick check up, making sure she hadn’t hurt herself and also dusted her dress off. All this time, he was silent, not meeting her eyes either. The little girl became scared and sad, she didn’t know what she had done wrong.

“Uncle Cwowley?” she asked, close to crying. She didn’t like how he was behaving. It was nothing like she was used to see of him. He was always laughing to her, making jokes and in a mood to play games with her, like hide and seek.

“Awe you angwy at me?” she sniffed, her lip was trembling as she tried to hold her tears back.

Noticing what he was doing by acting like this, he sat down on the floor and looked at her.

“No Cassandra, I’m not angry, but I was very worried. I have been running through the whole castle, trying to find you, but I just couldn’t find you.”

The Princess lowered her gaze, silently shedding some tears.

“Will you tell to daddy and mommy that I didn’t listen to you?” she whispered.

She could already imagine it, how her parents would lecture her and not only her, also the Ranger. Thinking of that, she burst out in tears. That she got punished for what she did was logical, but she didn’t want them to punish him. She liked him a lot and not ever seeing him again would be her biggest fear.

“No little one, I won’t tell them,” he said, pulling her into an embrace. “It was a misunderstanding, but I found you and it’s alright now.”

He rocked back and forth to calm her down and after some minutes, she stopped crying. She laid her head on his shoulder and entangled her arms around his neck. Crowley gently stroked her back with one hand and with the other he held her close.

“Uncle Cwowley?” Cassandra opened her eyes and stared at the window, looking at the colourful sky outside. Soon, her parents would come to pick her up, but she didn’t want to go home.

“Yes Cassandra?”

“May I stay with you fow dinnew? And also sleep hewe?”

The Ranger felt how a warmth spread through his body. He loved the Princess deeply and the two of them shared a special bond. Not only was he her babysitter when necessary, Duncan and Rosalind had also asked him to be her godfather. He had shown from the beginning that he would do anything to keep her safe. It wasn’t that often that the two could spend a lot of time together, so he cherished every single moment.

“Of course you can, little one,” he replied, a smile on his face.


End file.
